i was experimenting with dsc to see how the car handled without its use. i took a turn at moderate speed and hit the throttle relatively lightly to induce a skid at apex. before i knew it i was in free spin, and completed ~2 full spins before stopping, during which the car stalled. when i restarted the car, the engine warning light came on, and the redline was set at ~5k. i drove carefully the half mile home - warning light stayed on whole time

i was surprised at how dramatically the car responded with dsc off. when on, my car would enter a slight skid, cut power to the wheels and i would regain traction. i'm not sure what happened with dsc off, inputs please!

It sounds like you just found out how poor of a driver you are. No offense but if the DSC has saved you that severely in the past, it's time for some driving lessons from a qualified instructor. I've worked with a lot of drivers in a similar situation, and it sounds well needed. You got a lowered redline indicator due to the difference in wheel speeds. Similar to some dyno situations.

It sounds like you just found out how poor of a driver you are. No offense but if the DSC has saved you that severely in the past, it's time for some driving lessons from a qualified instructor. I've worked with a lot of drivers in a similar situation, and it sounds well needed. You got a lowered redline indicator due to the difference in wheel speeds. Similar to some dyno situations.

+1, you got away without a scratch after spinning, consider yourself one lucky SOB. Turning DSC off in the winter time is not only dangerous for you, but god forbid, little kids and families on the street.

thanks for the somewhat obvious input, let's get down to the dynamics of the situation.

i had snow tires on and the pavement was wet. the point was to induce a skid and practice maintaining control in a skid (something relatively easy to do - even for me ;-)) with lower power cars with no traction control electronics). maintaining control of a skid is trivial with the dsc on as power is cut and the skid cannot be maintained.

i am more immediately concerned about what happened in the sense of the engine warning light. the stall seemed to put the car in some type of a safe mode in which the engine cannot be revved over 5k (and the warning light has stayed on). i'm wondering if the fast loss of traction caused the engine to go over the rev limiter and that such caused the warning. thoughts on this aspect would be helpful.

You are in limp mode. The engine won't rev beyond a certain point and performance is severely limited. It would be best to use a code reader to understand what the car thinks is wrong. However, to get rid of it, I hear you can pull the battery ground for 60 seconds and plug it back in.

i was experimenting with dsc to see how the car handled without its use. i took a turn at moderate speed and hit the throttle relatively lightly to induce a skid at apex. before i knew it i was in free spin, and completed ~2 full spins before stopping, during which the car stalled. when i restarted the car, the engine warning light came on, and the redline was set at ~5k. i drove carefully the half mile home - warning light stayed on whole time

i was surprised at how dramatically the car responded with dsc off. when on, my car would enter a slight skid, cut power to the wheels and i would regain traction. i'm not sure what happened with dsc off, inputs please!

Yup, take a trip to the dealer and have them disable your DSC button.
This is gonna be a full blown flaming, NEVER, EVER admit this on an open forum again!!!
There are so many threads on peeps putting their M3's into trees, guardrails, curbs... That button is only of professional drivers, like myself.

Yup, take a trip to the dealer and have them disable your DSC button.
This is gonna be a full blown flaming, NEVER, EVER admit this on an open forum again!!!
There are so many threads on peeps putting their M3's into trees, guardrails, curbs... That button is only of professional drivers, like myself.

Lol! Good one. But seriously, anyone who admits would get flamed.

OP - maybe at least tell us this was done in an open lot as you were "testing" the car. You'd probably get less flamed for that vs. just a random test on the street where people could of been run over.

In any case, the last couple of posts on getting a code reader would work or simply bring it to the dealer. DO NOT tell them what you're telling us.

i was experimenting with dsc to see how the car handled without its use. i took a turn at moderate speed and hit the throttle relatively lightly to induce a skid at apex. before i knew it i was in free spin, and completed ~2 full spins before stopping, during which the car stalled. when i restarted the car, the engine warning light came on, and the redline was set at ~5k. i drove carefully the half mile home - warning light stayed on whole time

i was surprised at how dramatically the car responded with dsc off. when on, my car would enter a slight skid, cut power to the wheels and i would regain traction. i'm not sure what happened with dsc off, inputs please!

This has been discussed to death..DSC off equals trouble AND to turn it off in the winter AND on the street is just plain irresponsible. If you dont know what you are doing, I highly suggest you leave that button alone

A spin out while in gear can cause the tires to spin backwards hence the crankshaft will turn backwards, which causes the engine to stall. Also will cause the car to throw an engine malfunction warning

This has been discussed to death..DSC off equals trouble AND to turn it off in the winter AND on the street is just plain irresponsible. If you dont know what you are doing, I highly suggest you leave that button alone

A spin out while in gear can cause the tires to spin backwards hence the crankshaft will turn backwards, which causes the engine to stall. Also will cause the car to throw an engine malfunction warning

^ This is what he wanted to know, not all the flaming $hitballs that all the internet toughguys like to throw around. It's so grammar school. Let the OP run it into a tree if he wants, but don't give him the holier-than-thou lecture. Puleez.

^ This is what he wanted to know, not all the flaming $hitballs that all the internet toughguys like to throw around. It's so grammar school. Let the OP run it into a tree if he wants, but don't give him the holier-than-thou lecture. Puleez.

Well it seems he doesnt know the basics of what the car can and can't do..so a flaming imo..is more than appropriate..

do you have 6mt? first thing they teach you in car control clinic is both feet down as soon as you spin (that is, clutch and brake to the floor). it prevents damage to the engine and brings the car to a stop asap. if you did not do this and the engine ran backwards, it may be the reason you're in limp mode.

Just pray that you got away unscathed and you didn't kill anyone else in this process. It's all good to have some fun but knowing well what the road conditions are (i.e. winter) it's plain stupid to try what you have.

The most important lesson from this is, you now know what your limitations are when it comes to an /// car. So get out there and drive carefully. There enough stupid idiots, unless you wish to join their ranks.

It's holiday season ... think about the other people who are minding their business.

I don't quite understand everyone's problem. I've thrown cars around in an empty lot before to test the limits of my cars in the past.

He mentions he did this in an area where nothing could be harmed so what's the big deal?

"You're a shitty driver" etc was hardly helpful.

The OP's questions were answered. He's in limp mode.

To the OP: You didn't let out of gear during the spin nor did you gas the throttle to compensate for the spin which probably put you in limp mode. Most do the battery disconnect. Just make sure you have your radio code on you if you need it.

I don't quite understand everyone's problem. I've thrown cars around in an empty lot before to test the limits of my cars in the past.

He mentions he did this in an area where nothing could be harmed so what's the big deal?

"You're a shitty driver" etc was hardly helpful.

The OP's questions were answered. He's in limp mode.

To the OP: You didn't let out of gear during the spin nor did you gas the throttle to compensate for the spin which probably put you in limp mode. Most do the battery disconnect. Just make sure you have your radio code on you if you need it.

Doesn't matter what you do when you spin out, car should still not go into limp mode.

Limp mode should NEVER happen. Period.

I had an issue like this years ago in my E60 M5. Was in an open lot playing around and it didn't like my sliding. Didn't throw me in limp mode but got DSC malfunction and a few other errors.

Read the codes and see what they are. A generic scanner may not do the trick.

Battery resets do not clear codes on these cars in most circumstances.

Radio codes are not needed on these cars either as the certificates in the navigation system ensure that the unit will not be fully functional in another car without additional tweaking.

Sometimes sensors get freaked out in extreme circumstances. It's not normal if it keeps happening though, there was a specific reason for the faults being thrown. Sometimes older software is more prone to these "glitches".

Doesn't matter what you do when you spin out, car should still not go into limp mode.

Limp mode should NEVER happen. Period.

I had an issue like this years ago in my E60 M5. Was in an open lot playing around and it didn't like my sliding. Didn't throw me in limp mode but got DSC malfunction and a few other errors.

Read the codes and see what they are. A generic scanner may not do the trick.

Battery resets do not clear codes on these cars in most circumstances.

Radio codes are not needed on these cars either as the certificates in the navigation system ensure that the unit will not be fully functional in another car without additional tweaking.

Sometimes sensors get freaked out in extreme circumstances. It's not normal if it keeps happening though, there was a specific reason for the faults being thrown. Sometimes older software is more prone to these "glitches".

Be careful OP.

Hope this helps.

Car can and does go into limp mode if you spin out and stall it while in gear..I suppose the ECU goes through some internal checks, (you would know more about this) but it generally clears itself while driving or through a few on/off power cycles of the engine